Just Three update

So how is your Just Three for April goal going? I'm making headway on two out of three. Joshua's quilt is now quilted and just needs to be bound. He was sleeping with it in his crib until I stole it yesterday so that I could finish the binding. It's nice to know that project is already will loved, if still unfinished.

My other major project is the big Central Park Urban Lattice quilt. I'd made it through almost two-thirds of the quilting when I finally made it down to my LQS and purchased a walking foot for my machine. Yes, I'm embarrassed to admit I've been doing all my quilting with just a regular sewing foot. Anyway, I made the switch mid-quilt, and now I almost wish I hadn't. A walking foot is amazing! This is seriously a game-changer in the quilting department. My stitches are much more even, and the top isn't shifting or puckering. I love my walking foot. And the $25 price tag doesn't hurt either. The only downside is that now it makes me want to go back and revisit some of my earlier quilting. We'll see how motivated I feel.

I hope you're making progress on your goals too! Happy sewing!

A collaborative finish

So, if you've been over to Sew and Tell Friday at Amy's blog, you've already read about this quilt. We've been working together on a few projects of late, and the collaboration has been great. Read - we get to give people cute (in our opinion) quilts without having to do all the work. Hooray!
This was for a good mutual friend who's expecting Boy #3. I picked up the Riley Blake All Star fabric a long while ago, and it's been patiently waiting for the right projects. This was one of them. I had liked this quilt made by Cluck Cluck Sew awhile back, and Mama had pinned it as a favorite too. Great fabric + great pattern = a super cute quilt. I paired the All Star with Kona Snow.The back makes me happy too. I like a pieced backing, but it has to make sense in relation for the front. And this one does. At least to me.
So while I didn't completely finish this quilt, I did finish my part, so I'm counting it as a finish. I think I've seen some more growing bellies around town lately, so this may not be the end of Amy's and my baby-quilt-making days!
Go check out the other lovelies at Sew and Tell Friday and Finish it up Friday!

Just three

When I saw Tracey's Just Three for April challenge, I knew it was high time for me to get going. See, I've been working on commissioned quilts for my nieces. My sister first contacted me last May. But then we moved, three kids are time-consuming, and my old machine was begging to be thrown out the window. Seriously. That thing had a death wish.
Fast forward to October, and I get my mom's much-nicer machine while they're out of the country. One problem solved. After some initial I'm-so-nervous-about-paper-piecing jitters and dry runs that took about three months (along with painting our entire downstairs), I finally got moving in January. Oh, and did I mention these are twin-sized quilts and that there are two of them???
So, here's my Just Three -
#1 - Finish the first #!@& quilt. Like, quilted, bound, finished. Don't get me wrong - I think this quilt is sooo pretty. See? The problem is that it's just taking me forever. And it's taking me so long that I don't want to sew very much because I *have* to finish these before I can do anything else. So I need to finish.
#2 - Start the next #!@& quilt. I'll take any definition of start, including thinking about cutting fabric.
#3 - Finish this little guy's quilt. It was supposed to be a baby quilt, but he turns two in June. Oops. Do you see how excited he is about it? It's time.
So there are my goals for April. How about you? What are you working on these days?

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